Thoughts
by Pricat
Summary: My dad tried to eat me. This was inspired by a scene in the Shrek 3 novel where Shrek remembers that night. Merlin shows up and tries to give him therapy but will it work and Fiona finds out what his parents were like?
1. A cause for Concern

Thoughts 

It was night time and Shrek watched as Fiona was asleep peacefully. The kids were in bed already. His weary eyes closed and entered the realm of sleep… He was remembering something very bad.

_It had been the first night after he'd been born. His father was sneaking around looking for something to eat. He couldn't find anything to eat but then he stared at his son. He remembered how painful feeling his father's teeth trying to sink into him hurt. He then saw his mother run into the room because he'd cried out in pain. After that, things went down hill where they were concerned…_

A painful sting on his face and arm waked him up . That was where his father's teeth sank in but he hadn't told Fiona any of this. Why was it hurting like this? There was sweat running down him at that. Dawn broke as he entered the living room. The kids were still asleep in their cot. He stroked them gently as not to wake them up. He then felt more searing pain. Fiona then saw him grit his teeth in agony. "What's wrong? Are you hurt? Let me see." She asked him. She saw both scars and was curious. "I don't want to talk about how I got them, okay? So drop it!" he told her as he began to cook breakfast.

_Maybe I should tell her. She might understand if I tell her. Besides I know all about her parents but I don't know…_ he thought as he watched her feed the kids. Suddenly there was a flash of light as somebody appeared. It was Merlin. What was he doing here? "I felt a disturbance here. Somebody isn't revealing something you should know. Something to do with being born." He told them.

Shrek got nervous at that. Merlin then stared at the scar on his cheek. "So that's why I felt that. Your husband needs to get something off his chest." He said.

Fiona understood as he conjured up a therapist's chair. "Oh no Fiona! I'm not doing this!" he told her. She shot him a look. "Fine! I'll give it a shot for… you." He said as he laid on the couch…


	2. The Fight

Thoughts 

Ch 2

Fiona had put the triplets down for a nap. She hoped Merlin could help get her husband to open up through therapy. But as she came back in, things seemed to be getting worse. "What's wrong?" she asked him nervously.

"Your husband's past is more mysterious than it seems. I… have to go for a little while." He told her. She sighed as her husband sat down by the fire. She saw sadness in his eyes. "Honey is something the matter that you are hiding?" she told him. "Alright I… I'll tell ya but not the kids. I was only a babe and it was late at night. My Dad came in hungry and he…" he said to her. "He did what honey?" she asked him curiously. "He tried to eat me. Luckily my Mom stopped him from doing it and left me with two scars." He explained. There was a look of shock in her eyes. Suddenly they opened the door. One of the kids had been standing out there listening. He ran into the bedroom at the sight of his father. This made him unhappy. He watched as Fiona went into the room. The three kids were hiding.

She found them. "Let me guess. You heard Daddy tell me something you weren't supposed to hear?" she said to them.

They nodded. She then sang to them to make them fall asleep. But she then walked back into the living room. "Hey honey how're you?" she said to him. But he wasn't answering. "Is it to do with me?" she asked him. He ignored her. "You know what? Maybe I should get a divorce!" she retorted angrily. That made him take notice. "Honey wait! I… I didn't mean what.. I said." He told her as he watched her pack a few things. "Uh-huh. I'm going away for a while and taking my daughter with me. When you come to your senses, come find me!" she told him as she walked out with Felicia in her arms asleep. He was gutted by this. He hadn't felt like this for a while.

Later that night, the two boys were in bed with him. They noticed he was upset about something but couldn't understand how serious it was. "Daddy where's Mommy? What's divorce?" they said to him. Shrek sighed heavily at this as he prepared to explain this without upsetting them. "Divorce is when a Mommy and Daddy accidentally get angry at each other and do or say things they don't really mean. They're in sort of a time out but it's more like alone time. But don't worry, Mommy will come to her senses and come home. I'm sorry for freaking you out eariler, okay?" he explained to them. They nodded as they hugged him. There were red rims around his eyes later as he woke up. He smiled sadly as he looked at his sons in peaceful slumber. "I'm sorry Fi. I didn't mean for you to go away." he thought as he saw them wake up. There were tears in his eyes and they didn't notice.

Suddenly he got an idea. "Maybe Mom can help. But I don't know. Fiona means everything to me and my stupid mistake made her leave." he thought as he scooped the two boys in his arms. "Where're we going?" they asked him. "We're going to your grandmother to see if she can help me get Mommy to come home." he told them.

Fiona was at the Dragon's Keep with Donkey and his family. Donkey wondered what had happened which had made her upset. "It's... my husband. He wasn't acting like normal so I decided we needed alone time for a while." she simply told him. He nodded understandingly but was shocked by this. Why would his friend have a fight with Fiona? It just didn't add up...


	3. Between Friends

Thoughts

Ch 3

Lillian was surprised to see her son in law show up in the middle of the night with her grand sons like this. She saw sadness on his face. "What's wrong?" she asked him as he sat down in the dining room and sipped some tea. The two boys were in Lillian's arms. "It's Fiona. We accidentally had a row and now she's considering divorce but I didn't mean it. I came to ask your counsel." He explained to her.

"Hey what's going on?" somebody asked as he came into the room. It was Artie. "What's up? You seem down since we last saw each other. Did something happen?" he said to Shrek. He smiled sadly as he looked at the teen. It'd been a while since he'd helped him find the strength within to be King. It was also during that, he'd found the power to be a good father to his triplets… "Yeah. Fiona and I… We're having some down time." He said simply to him. He nodded understandingly. "Tell me about it! That's like what Gwen's feeling at the minute. Maybe we can come up with something." He told him. A chuckle came out of his mouth at that. "Thanks Artie for that. Everything is too… crazy at the moment. More so than when I was looking for you." Shrek said smiling genuinely.

But then somebody knocked at the door. They watched as some man followed a page into the room. "Sir. There's someone here to see you." He said to Artie. But the smile on the teen's face vanished as he saw the stranger. It was his father. "Guards arrest him!" he yelled angrily. Lillian was confused. "Artie why throw him in the dungeon? Do you know him?" she asked him calmly. "Yes I do. He's… my father." He said angrily. His father was dressed in a simple brown shirt with black trousers. Shrek watched as the guards carried Artie's Dad off to the dungeon. _"Poor kid. He was abandoned by that man sixteen years ago at Worchester Academy. No wonder he's angry. The same way I… felt with my Dad. Maybe Fiona can wait for a while. Artie is one of my best friends and friends help out, right?"_ he thought as he saw Artie sitting at the dining table miserably. He joined him. "Hey dude you okay?" he asked him. "Yeah I guess. It's… just." He said but stopped there. "Just what Artie? You know you can tell me. We are buddies right? Besides it's probably nothing I haven't heard before." Shrek said to him. Artie sighed before going on. "It's just that I was a nobody before you came along. I've been dreaming about that day when he dumped me at Worchester Academy. Now that I'm learning to be King, he shows up once more to tell me I'm not good enough to be a part of his life, to be his son." he told him quietly with fear quivering in his voice.

Artie then shook his head of those thoughts. "But it's not your problem. You've got bigger things to worry about like Fiona. I hope your kids will be great because they're a part of you. I... I just need to be alone right now, okay?" he said as he got up and ran out of the room. He had seen some tears well up in the kid's eye that worried him greatly. "I hope he'll be okay." he told himself as he went upstairs and opened Artie's door a crack. The kid was lying on the bed crying his heart out and there was something there that concerned him greatly. It was a sword. He came in quietly and looked at it. There was some blood on the blade. He saw marks on the kid's wrists. This saddened him. Artie seemed out of it. "Are ya okay?" he said as the teen woke up. "Hey man. You see what I'm up to?" he said quietly. Shrek nodded. "Aye. Let me guess you had that dream again and you got depressed. But this cutting thing isn't the answer Artie. I know what it's like to have your parents hate ya." he told him gently as he sat beside him on the bed. "What do you mean?" Artie asked him. "After they found out that I... was different from the other ogres, my Dad and Mom tried their best to help but it didn't work. Then they gave up. Then when I was thirteen, they... they." he told him.

"They did what?" Artie said curiously. Shrek sighed before going on. In his heart and mind, this part always hurt him the most. "They just abandoned me in a forest with no care. I was left to fend for myself but all those years, people made me feel like I didn't belong and I believed them until I met your cousin." he explained to the teenager who was shocked to hear this. "That was harsh man. Just because you weren't a vicous one, they abandoned you?" he said to him. Shrek nodded. He then got an idea

"What is it?" Artie asked him. "Maybe you should talk to him. Go down to the dungeon and talk to him. Maybe there was a reason he did it. Maybe he loved you but couldn't support you. You never know." he told him. He saw a scowl on Artie's face at his idea. Shrek sighed as he got up. He then made his way to the door. "Don't go. For some reason, you understand how I feel." Artie said to him. He smiled at that remark. "Okay it may be a bad idea but it might work out. I... wish I could talk to my Dad but I'm afraid..." Shrek told him. "Why? You can do anything. I know you can." Artie said to him. He smiled at that.

"Yeah I know. But in my head when ever I think of that idea, I always imagine that he'll just... push me away like before. He never listened to me before so why should I try?" he explained to the teen. He then left to talk to Lillian. Artie lay back on the bed and thought about what Shrek had told him. "Maybe I can help him. I know I can do it since I've found my inner strength, I can do anything." he told himself. His thoughts then turned to his father in the dungeon. Anger flowed through his body. He then made a decision in his mind.

He waited until everybody was asleep and went down to the dungeon. His father was in a cell staring into space. He smiled at the sight of Artie. "Hello Artie boy. I know you're becoming King and I..." he began. Artie scowled at that. "So that's why you showed up! You're trying to get into the royal court. Sorry Dad but no dice!" he said as he began to walk off. Raven Pendragon sighed at this...


	4. Decisions of the Heart

Thoughts 

Ch 4

Artie wasn't tired. He was back in his room lying on the bed. Memories of that day, when his Dad had left him at Worchester Academy. That hurt him more than ever thinking about that.

Tears welled in his eyes. But in another room Shrek was feeling the same way. He was thinking about the times when his parents especially his father ignored or treated him differently. He then thought of the idea he'd given Artie and smiled. He watched as his two sons slept peacefully never knowing the hurt and coldness of the world… _"Maybe I should go and find my parent's home. Their cave shouldn't be too far from here, I think but I don't know. What if I show up and they forget again or hate me? But maybe they've changed as I have. I can't wait to see the look on their faces when I tell them I'm married and have a family."_ He thought as he entered the world of sleep. Artie then walked into the royal gardens after sneaking out of his room. He needed some time to be alone and think. He then saw somebody come out of somewhere. It was Lillian. "What're you doing out here dear? It's really late." She said to him.

"Yeah I know. It's just I needed to think through some things, that's all." He told her calmly. She knew he was thinking about his father. "It's to do with your father, isn't it?" she asked him. He just nodded silently. "H…How did you know?" he told her. "I overheard Shrek talking to you about it. I'm sorry. Maybe he loves you but has a funny way of showing it." She explained to him.

"What do you mean?" Artie said to her. "When Harold realised Fiona's curse could make the kingdom angry, he kept her out of the public eye and wouldn't let her out at night. But when she was six years old, he locked her in that tower. We should've found another way but your uncle… He forced us to do it. He believed it would help her but he was wrong. Maybe your Dad leaving you at Worchester was so that you could have a better life or something." She told him. He was thinking about it as she went back into the castle. But then somebody joined him. It was Shrek. He looked set on something. "Hey man what's up? You look like you're about to do something important." Artie said as they looked at the lake… It looked peaceful. "I was rememebering eariler when we were talking about your Dad. It sort of gave me an idea." he told him calmly.

"What is it?" Artie asked curiously. His friend sighed before going on. "I... was thinking about seing my parents again but I'm having second thoughts about the idea." Shrek explained to him. He understood and listened as his friend began to talk. "I'm worried in case they haven't changed and still hate my guts. But if they have, I was going to ask them to join the family." he told him. Artie understood as he saw an expression of worry on his face. "I'm sure it'll go fine and they probably have changed since you last saw them. How old were you when you last saw them?" he told him. "I was only thirteen when I saw them, three years younger than you. I'm also worried about Fiona. This parental thing is eating up everything else I care about and I... don't want it to. I just want us to be together again as one big ogre family. It doesn't matter who was right." he explained as he and Artie lay on the grass under the moon and the stars. "Do you think I'll find somebody as special to me as Fiona is to you?" Artie asked him. Shrek smiled at that question.

"I'm sure you will. There may be a few obstacles ahead when it comes to the Love department but when you find that one special woman, it'll be True Love and you never want to live without her." he told the teen. "Is that the way you feel with Fiona?" Artie said as a shooting star crossed the sky. "Yeah it is. I never thought she'd love somebody like me, an ogre. I was just meant to bring her to Lord Farquaad so I could get my swamp back." Shrek explained to him. "You mean that little control freak in Duloc who hates fairy tale creatures?" Artie interrupted. "Yep. That guy. If it wasn't for him, Fiona and I would never have met or fallen in love. Do you think she's thinking about me right now even though we're not together?" he said with a chuckle. Artie thought about that for a minute. "I think she is. If you guys have True Love in your hearts, it can conquer anything so maybe it can bring you guys back together, right?" he told him. Shrek smiled at the teen's words. Sometimes Artie spoke like a true leader.

"Thanks man. I hope you're right dude. I couldn't imagine being without her." Shrek said as he yawned. They then fell asleep. But when dawn broke, Artie wasn't there. "Where could he have gone?" Shrek asked himself as he got to his feet. Lillian saw worry on her son in law's face as he came into the dining room. His sons were already up and a page was feeding them. "What's wrong dear?" she asked him. "Have you seen Artie? He was with me last night but when I woke up, he wasn't there." he told her. "I saw him in the dungeon before dawn. He must've been talking to his father but after that, I don't know." she told him.

He then thought about where Artie could've gone. But he was unaware that the teen was up to something for him...

"I can do this, I can do this. It's for Shrek. Maybe I can convince Fiona to come back to him, I hope." Artie said to himself as he began to cross the old bridge that led to the other side where the way into the Dragon's Keep was. Fiona was sitting on the bed in her old room in the tallest tower. She was thinking about her husband. She hadn't meant to snap at him like that. She knew he was stressed. "I'm sorry honey. I never should've yelled at you." she thought. But her thoughts were broken as Dragon roared loudly. "Help!" she heard somebody yell. The voice sounded familiar. She looked out the window and saw Artie hanging on as he was about to fall into the lava. He watched as Dragon scooped him up in one of her large paws. She landed on the other side and dropped him to the ground. Artie was scared but tried not to show it as Dragon growled at him calmly. "Don't hurt me!" he yelled. She then blew a puff of smoke at him. He realised it was okay and calmed down. Donkey then came out and joined her.

"Hey honey, it's okay. It's just Artie. But I don't know what he's doing here." he said to her "I came to talk to Fiona. I was hoping that she'd come back with me to Far, Far Away. Shrek really misses her and hasn't been the same." he told him. Fiona then ran out at that. "You said he's been missing me? Wow I thought he'd be glad that we were having some alone time." she said calmly as she held Felicia in her arms. "Yeah. He's been helping me deal with a problem of my own. Do you want to come back?" he asked her

She thought about it for a second. "Yes I do. I never meant to upset him. That divorce thing was just to scare him. I never meant to hurt him. I... want to go back and try again." she said to him. He smiled at that. "Let's go." he told her. They then climbed onto Dragon's back and took off into the sky...


End file.
